Finding My Purpose: Setting Goals for Motherhood

One of the things I wanted to do before the babe comes next month was to create a mission statement for motherhood—a document that would keep my eyes set on the prize I'm after and help guide my actions and decisions. It can be all too easy to veer off course and get consumed with just making it, just getting through the day.

And while I understand that sometimes that's all you can do, I don't want to make it through an entire year living that way. I want to be intentional about this blessing of motherhood from its earliest days so that I can give my children the kind of upbringing they deserve—not to mention the kind of parenthood God has tasked me with providing them.

So, I sat down to pen my purpose statement.

I started dreaming of the kinds of things I wanted to be and do for my children. The kinds of things I hope will enrich their lives. The kinds of things that if I even come close to providing, I will be satisfied.

I found it's almost easier to come up with these things now, while I'm still innocent to the realities of motherhood. It's easy to dream about ideals and great expectations when they're all still looming large in the distance. I imagine once that reality is here, my list of goals might look quite different, with things like "Don't get disgusted by poop," or "Get out of bed with a smile."

But for now, that list is untainted and pure with hope, and I'm glad for that. I hope that it will inspire me all the more to strive after this kind of motherhood.

While I set out to make a single mission statement, there were so many things I came up with it, that I narrowed it down to my six goals. I set them in pretty type and enshrined them in a frame to serve as a constant reminder in the nursery, lest I forget (even neglect) the great task before me.

6 comments:

This is great (and I love the frame you used, too!). What a wonderful way to start out this journey into mommy-dom. I especially love that you address the attitude you'll have during times of trial. Great. I might steal it someday!